James Talarico

Yeah, and –

I think no one would disagree that Christianity was influential in the founding of this country.

And it's still influential.

I mean, it's suffused throughout our culture, our politics.

It is a central part of who we are as a nation.

But I think it's really important to clarify that we were not founded as a Christian nation.

We were founded as a nation where you are free to be a Christian.

or a Jew or a Muslim or a Sikh or a Buddhist or an atheist.

I mean, that's the promise of America is that we are this multicultural melting pot where no one is told how to pray and no religion is elevated over the others.

Yeah.

And, you know, to be fair, the Declaration of Independence does mention a creator.

And now it doesn't necessarily mention the Christian God, but it does mention a creator.

I think probably in a deliberate attempt to be less sectarian and more open.

I mean, a lot of our founders, if we're being honest, some of them weren't religious at all.

You know, Thomas Paine.

And then a lot of them weren't really what we would consider Christians today.

A lot of them were deists where they saw God as this impersonal clockmaker who created the universe and stepped away.

Clockmaker.

And I'm not— That's an interesting way of describing it.

Well, and I'm not casting aspersion that.